O. J. Simpson

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson, nicknamed The Juice, is a former American football player, broadcaster, and actor. Simpson attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he played college football for the USC Trojans. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1968. He then played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) as a running back for 11 seasons, with the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977 and with the San Francisco 49ers from 1978 to 1979. Simpson was the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, a mark he set in 1973. While six other players have passed the 2,000-rush yard mark, he stands alone as the only player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a 14-game season; the NFL changed to a 16-game season in 1978. He holds the record for the single season yards-per-game average, which stands at 143.1. Simpson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. After retiring from professional football, he had a career as a football broadcaster and actor. In 1995, Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, after a lengthy and internationally publicized criminal trial, the People v. Simpson. In 1997, a civil court awarded a $33.5 million judgment against Simpson for their wrongful deaths. In September 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, and charged with numerous felonies, including armed robbery and kidnapping. In 2008, he was convicted and sentenced to 33 years imprisonment, with a minimum of nine years without parole. He is serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada. Early life: Simpson was born in San Francisco, the son of Eunice (née Durden; October 23, 1921 – San Francisco, California, November 9, 2001), a hospital administrator, and Jimmy Lee Simpson (Arkansas, January 29, 1920 – San Francisco, California, June 9, 1985), a chef and bank custodian. His father was a well known drag queen in the San Francisco area. Later in his life, Jimmy Simpson announced he was gay. He died of AIDS in 1985. Simpson's maternal grandparents were from Louisiana. His aunt gave him the name Orenthal, which supposedly was the name of a French actor she liked. Simpson has one brother, Melvin Leon "Truman" Simpson, one living sister, Shirley Simpson-Baker, and one deceased sister, Carmelita Simpson-Durio. As a child, Simpson developed rickets and wore braces on his legs until the age of five. His parents separated in 1952 and he was raised by his mother. Growing up in San Francisco, Simpson lived in the housing projects of the Potrero Hill neighborhood. In his early teenage years, he joined a street gang called the Persian Warriors and was briefly incarcerated at the San Francisco Youth Guidance Center. At Galileo High School (currently Galileo Academy of Science and Technology) in San Francisco, Simpson played for the school football team, the Galileo Lions. College football career and athletics career: From 1965 to 1966, Simpson was a student at City College of San Francisco, a member of the California Community College system. He played both offense (running back) and defense (defensive back) and was named to the Junior College All-American team as a running back. Simpson was awarded an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California, where he played running back for coach John McKay in 1967 and 1968. Simpson led the nation in rushing in 1967 when he ran for 1,543 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. He also led the nation in rushing the next year with 383 carries for 1,880 yards. In 1967, he starred in the 1967 USC vs. UCLA football game and was a Heisman Trophy candidate as a junior, but he did not win the award. His 64-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter tied the game, with the extra point after touchdown providing the win. This was the biggest play in what is regarded as one of the greatest football games of the 20th century. Another dramatic touchdown in the same game is the subject of the Arnold Friberg oil painting, O.J. Simpson Breaks for Daylight. Simpson also won the Walter Camp Award in 1967 and was a two-time consensus All-American. Simpson was an aspiring track athlete, in 1967 he lost a 100m race in Stanford against the then British record holder Menzies Campbell. He ran in the USC sprint relay quartet that broke the world record in the 4x110 yard relay at the NCAA track championships in Provo, Utah, in June 1967. (While this time has not been beaten, the IAAF now refers to it as a world's best, not a world record. The scarcity of events over distances measured in imperial units resulted in the designation change in 1976.) In 1968, he rushed for 1,709 yards and 22 touchdowns, earning the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Award that year. He still holds the record for the Heisman's largest margin of victory, defeating runner-up Leroy Keyes by 1,750 points. In the 1969 Rose Bowl, where number two USC faced number one Ohio State, Simpson ran for 171 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run in a 27–16 loss. Professional football career Buffalo Bills: Simpson was drafted by the AFL's Buffalo Bills, who got first pick in the 1969 AFL-NFL Common Draft after finishing 1–12–1 in 1968. After he was drafted, Simpson demanded what was then the largest contract in professional sports history: $650,000 over five years. This demand led to a standoff between Simpson and Bills owner Ralph Wilson, with Simpson threatening to become an actor and skip playing professional football. Eventually, Wilson agreed to pay Simpson. Simpson came into professional football with high expectations. However, he struggled during his first three seasons, averaging only 622 yards per season. Bills coach John Rauch, not wanting to build an offense around one running back, assigned Simpson to do blocking and receiving duties at the expense of running the ball. In 1971, Rauch resigned as head coach and the Bills brought in Harvey Johnson. Despite Johnson devising a new offense for Simpson, Simpson was still ineffective that year. After the 1971 season, the Bills fired Johnson and brought in Lou Saban to coach. Unlike Rauch, Saban made Simpson the centerpiece of the Bills offense. In 1972, with coach Saban at the helm, Simpson rushed for over 1,000 yards in the season for the first time in his career, gaining a league-leading total of 1,251 yards. In 1973, Simpson became the first player to break the highly coveted 2,000 yard rushing mark, with 2,003 total rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Simpson broke the mark during the last game of the season against the New York Jets with a 7-yard rush. That same game also saw Simpson break Jim Brown's single-season rushing record of 1,863 yards. For his performance, Simpson won that year's NFL MVP Award and Bert Bell Award. While other players had broken the 2,000-yard mark since Simpson, this record happened back when the NFL only had 14-game seasons, as opposed to the 16-game seasons since the 1978 season. Simpson gained more than 1,000 rushing yards for each of his next three seasons. Simpson did not lead the league in rushing in 1974, but did cross the 1,000-yard barrier despite a sore knee. Simpson also made his first and only playoff appearance during the 1974 season. In a divisional game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Simpson rushed for 49 yards on 15 attempts. Simpson also caught one touchdown pass. The Bills lost the game 32–14. Simpson won the rushing title again in 1975, rushing for 1,817 yards and 16 touchdowns. Simpson also had a career high 426 receiving yards and 7 receiving touchdowns that season. Simpson once again the led the league in rushing in 1976, rushing for 1,503 yards and 8 touchdowns. Simpson had the best game of his career during that season's Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions on November 25. In that game, Simpson rushed for a then-record 273 yards on 29 attempts and scored two touchdowns. Despite Simpson's performance, the Bills would lose the game 27–14. Simpson played in only seven games in 1977, as his season was cut short by injury. San Francisco 49ers: Before the 1978 season, the Bills traded Simpson to the San Francisco 49ers for a series of draft picks. Simpson played in San Francisco for two seasons, rushing for a total of 1,053 yards and 4 touchdowns over the two seasons. Simpson's final NFL game was a 31–21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. His final play was a 10-yard run on 3rd and 10 for a first down. Summary: Simpson gained 11,236 rushing yards, placing him 2nd on the NFL's all-time rushing list when he retired; he now stands at 18th. He was named NFL Player of the Year in 1973, and played in six Pro Bowls. He was the only player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a 14-game season and he's the only player to rush for over 200 yards in six different games in his career. From 1972 to 1976, Simpson averaged 1,540 rushing yards per (14 game) season, 5.1 yards per carry, and he won the NFL rushing title four times. Simpson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility. Simpson acquired the nickname "Juice" as a play on "O.J.," a common abbreviation for "orange juice." "Juice" is also a colloquial synonym for electricity or electrical power, and hence a metaphor for any powerful entity; the Bills' offensive line at Simpson's peak was nicknamed "The Electric Company." NFL records: -Fastest player to gain 1,000 rushing yards in season: 1,025 in 7 games in 1973 and 1,005 in 7 games in 1975 (tied with Terrell Davis). -Fastest player to gain 2,000 rushing yards in season: 2,003 in 14 games in 1973. Acting career: Even before his retirement from football and in the NFL, Simpson embarked on a successful film career with parts in films such as the television mini-series Roots (1977), and the dramatic motion pictures The Klansman (1974), The Towering Inferno (1974), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), Capricorn One (1978), and the comedic Back to the Beach (1987) and The Naked Gun trilogy (1988, 1991, 1994). In 1979, he started his own film production company, Orenthal Productions, which dealt mostly in made-for-TV fare such as the family-oriented Goldie and the Boxer films with Melissa Michaelsen (1979 and 1981) and Cocaine and Blue Eyes (1983), the pilot for a proposed detective series on NBC. NBC was considering whether to air Frogmen, another series starring Simpson, when his arrest canceled the project. Besides his acting career, Simpson worked as a commentator for Monday Night Football and The NFL on NBC. He also appeared in the audience of Saturday Night Live during its second season and hosted an episode during its third season. Frogmen: Simpson starred in the un-televised two-hour-long film pilot for Frogmen, a The A-Team-like adventure series that Warner Bros. Television completed in 1994, a few months before the murders. NBC had not yet decided on whether to order the series when Simpson's arrest cancelled the project. While searching his home the police obtained a videotaped copy of the pilot as well as the script and dailies. Although the prosecution investigated reports that Simpson, who played the leader of a group of former United States Navy SEALs, received "a fair amount of" military training—including use of a knife—for Frogmen, and there is a scene in which he holds a knife to the throat of a woman, it was not introduced as evidence during the trial. NBC executive Warren Littlefield said in July 1994 that the network would probably never air the pilot if Simpson were convicted; if he were acquitted, however, one television journalist speculated that "Frogmen would probably be on the air before the NBC peacock could unfurl its plume". Most pilots that are two hours long are aired as TV movies whether or not they are ordered as series. Because—as the Los Angeles Times later reported—"the appetite for all things O.J. appeared insatiable" during the trial, Warner Bros. and NBC estimated that a gigantic, Super Bowl-like television audience would have watched the Frogmen film. One of Simpson's co-stars in the film commented that the studio's decision to not air it or even release it on home video, and forego an estimated $14 million in profits, was "just about the only proof you have that there is some dignity in the advertising and television business". Juiced: In 2006, Simpson starred in his own improv, hidden-camera prank TV show called "Juiced". Typical of the genre, Simpson would play a prank on everyday people while secretly filming them and at the end of each prank he would shout, "You've been Juiced!" Less typical, each episode opened with topless strippers dancing around Simpson who is dressed as pimp and sings his own rap song: "Don't you know there's no stopping the Juice / When I'm on the floor I'm like a lion on the loose / Better shoot me with a tranquilizer dart / Don't be stupid, I'm not a Simpson named Bart." In one episode, Simpson is at a used car lot in Las Vegas where he attempts to sell his infamous white Bronco which includes a bullet hole in the front of the SUV circled with his autograph, with this pitch: "If you ever get into some trouble and have to get away, it has escapability." In another sketch called "B-I-N-G-O.J.", Simpson pretends to be having an affair with another guy's girlfriend and he transforms into an old, white guy whose dying wish is to call for a Bingo game. "Juiced" aired as a one-time special on pay-per-view television and was later released on DVD. Endorsements: Chuck Barnes helped Simpson form business relationships with Chevrolet and ABC early in his career. By 1971, New York wrote that he was already wealthy enough to, "retire this week if he wanted to". Simpson's amiable persona and natural charisma landed him numerous endorsement deals. From 1975, he appeared in advertisements with Hertz rental car company, in whose commercials he was depicted running through airports, serving as an embodiment of speed. Simpson was also a longtime spokesman for Pioneer Chicken and owned two franchises, one of which was destroyed during the 1992 Los Angeles riots; as well as HoneyBaked Ham, the pX Corporation, and Calistoga Water Company's line of Napa Naturals soft drinks. He also appeared in comic book ads for Dingo cowboy boots. Family life: On June 24, 1967, aged 19, Simpson married Marguerite L. Whitley. Together, they had three children: Arnelle L. Simpson (born December 4, 1968), Jason L. Simpson (born April 21, 1970), and Aaren Lashone Simpson (born September 24, 1977). In August 1979, five months after the couple divorced, Aaren drowned in the family's swimming pool, one month before her second birthday. Simpson met Nicole Brown in 1977, while she was working as a waitress at the nightclub "The Daisy". Although still married to his first wife, Simpson began dating Brown. Simpson and Marguerite divorced in March 1979. Brown and Simpson were married on February 2, 1985, five years after his retirement from professional football. The couple had two children, Sydney Brooke Simpson (born October 17, 1985) and Justin Ryan Simpson (born August 6, 1988). The marriage lasted seven years, during which Simpson pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 1989. Brown filed for divorce on February 25, 1992, citing "irreconcilable differences". In 1993, after the divorce, Brown and Simpson made an attempt at reconciliation, but according to Sheila Weller "they were a dramatic, fractious, mutually obsessed couple before they married, after they married, after they divorced in 1992, and after they reconciled". Legal history Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman murders and trials- Criminal trial for murder: On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death outside Nicole's condominium in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. Simpson was a person of interest in their murders. On June 17, after failing to turn himself in, he became the object of a low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco SUV that interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals. The pursuit, arrest, and trial were among the most widely publicized events in American history. The trial, often characterized as the Trial of the Century because of its international publicity, similar to that of Sacco and Vanzetti and the Lindbergh kidnapping, culminated on October 3, 1995, in a jury verdict of "not guilty" for the two murders. An estimated 100 million people nationwide tuned in to watch or listen to the verdict announcement. Following Simpson's acquittal, the crime remains unsolved to this day. Immediate reaction to the verdict was notable for its division along racial lines: a poll of Los Angeles County residents showed that most African-Americans there felt that justice had been served by the "not guilty" verdict, while the majority of whites and Latinos there expressed an opinion that it had not. O. J. Simpson's integrated defense counsel included Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, Robert Shapiro, and F. Lee Bailey; the prosecution team was led by Marcia Clark. Wrongful death civil trial: Following Simpson's acquittal of criminal charges, Ron Goldman's family filed a civil lawsuit against Simpson. Daniel Petrocelli represented plaintiff Fred Goldman (Ronald Goldman's father), while Robert Baker represented Simpson. Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki presided, and he barred television and still cameras, radio equipment, and courtroom sketch artists from the courtroom. On October 23, 1996, opening statements were made, and on January 16, 1997, both sides rested their cases. On February 5, 1997, a civil jury in Santa Monica, California, unanimously found Simpson liable for the wrongful death of and battery against Goldman, and battery against Brown. Simpson was ordered to pay $33,500,000 in damages. In February 1999, an auction of Simpson's Heisman Trophy and other belongings netted almost $500,000, which went to the Goldman family. The Goldman family also tried to collect Simpson's NFL $28,000 yearly pension but failed to collect any money. In 1997, Simpson was evicted from the estate in which he had lived for 20 years, at 360 North Rockingham Avenue, after defaulting on the mortgage. In July 1998, the house was demolished by its next owner, Kenneth Abdalla, an investment banker and president of the Jerry's Famous Deli chain. A 2000 Rolling Stone article reported that Simpson still made a significant income by signing autographs. He subsequently moved from California to Florida, settling in Miami. In Florida, among a few states, a person's residence cannot be seized to collect a debt under most circumstances. On September 5, 2006, Goldman's father took Simpson back to court to obtain control over Simpson's "right to publicity", for purposes of satisfying the judgment in the civil court case. On January 4, 2007, a Federal judge issued a restraining order prohibiting Simpson from spending any advance he may have received on a canceled book deal and TV interview about the 1994 murders. The matter was dismissed before trial for lack of jurisdiction. On January 19, 2007, a California state judge issued an additional restraining order, ordering Simpson to restrict his spending to "ordinary and necessary living expenses". On March 13, 2007, a judge prevented Simpson from receiving any further compensation from the defunct book deal and TV interview, and the judge ordered the bundled book rights to be auctioned. In August 2007, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the book to the Goldman family, to partially satisfy an unpaid civil judgment. Originally titled If I Did It, the book was renamed If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, with the word "If" reduced in size to make the title appear to read I Did It: Confessions of the Killer. Additional material was added by members of the Goldman family, investigative journalist Dominick Dunne, and author Pablo Fenjves, and the Goldman family was listed as the author. Other legal troubles: The State of California claims Simpson owes $1.44 million in back taxes. A tax lien was filed in his case on September 1, 1999. In the late 1990s, Simpson attempted to register "O.J. Simpson", "O.J.", and "The Juice" as trademarks for "a broad range of goods, including figurines, trading cards, sportswear, medallions, coins, and prepaid telephone cards." A "concerned citizen", William B. Ritchie, sued to oppose the granting of federal registration on the grounds that doing so would be immoral and scandalous. Simpson gave up the effort in 2000. In February 2001, Simpson was arrested in Miami-Dade County, Florida, for simple battery and burglary of an occupied conveyance, for yanking the glasses off another motorist during a traffic dispute three months earlier. If convicted, Simpson could have faced up to 16 years in prison, but he was tried and quickly acquitted on both charges in October 2001. Simpson's Miami home was searched by the FBI on December 4, 2001, on suspicion of ecstasy possession and money laundering. The FBI had received a tip that Simpson was involved in a major drug trafficking ring after 10 other suspects were arrested in the case. Simpson's home was thoroughly searched for two hours, but no illegal drugs were discovered, and no arrest or formal charges were filed following the search. However, investigators uncovered equipment capable of stealing satellite television programming, which eventually led to Simpson's being sued in federal court. On July 4, 2002, Simpson was arrested in Miami-Dade County, Florida, for speeding through a manatee protection zone and failing to comply with proper boating regulations. The misdemeanor boating regulation charge was dropped, and Simpson was fined for the speeding infraction. In March 2004, satellite television network DirecTV, Inc. accused Simpson in a Miami federal court of using illegal electronic devices to pirate its broadcast signals. The company later won a $25,000 judgment, and Simpson was ordered to pay an additional $33,678 in attorney's fees and costs. Las Vegas robbery: In September 2007, a group of men led by Simpson entered a room at the Palace Station hotel-casino and took sports memorabilia at gunpoint, which resulted in Simpson's being questioned by police. Simpson admitted to taking the items, which he said had been stolen from him, but denied breaking into the hotel room; he also denied that he or anyone else carried a gun. He was released after questioning. Two days later, Simpson was arrested and initially held without bail. Along with three other men, Simpson was charged with multiple felony counts, including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, assault, robbery, and using a deadly weapon. Bail was set at $125,000, with stipulations that Simpson have no contact with the co-defendants and that he surrender his passport. Simpson did not enter a plea. By the end of October 2007, all three of Simpson's co-defendants had plea-bargained with the prosecution in the Clark County, Nevada, court case. Walter Alexander and Charles H. Cashmore accepted plea agreements in exchange for reduced charges and their testimony against Simpson and three other co-defendants, including testimony that guns were used in the robbery. Co-defendant Michael McClinton told a Las Vegas judge that he too would plead guilty to reduced charges and testify against Simpson that guns were used in the robbery. After the hearings, the judge ordered that Simpson be tried for the robbery. Simpson's preliminary hearing, to decide whether he would be tried for the charges, occurred on November 8, 2007. He was held over for trial on all 12 counts. Simpson pleaded not guilty on November 29, and the trial was reset from April to September 8, 2008. Court officers and attorneys announced, on May 22, 2008, that long questionnaires with at least 115 queries would be given to a jury pool of 400 or more. In January 2008, Simpson was taken into custody in Florida and flown to Las Vegas, where he was incarcerated at the county jail for violating the terms of his bail by attempting to contact Clarence "C. J." Stewart, a co-defendant in the trial. District Attorney David Roger of Clark County provided District Court Judge Jackie Glass with evidence that Simpson had violated his bail terms. A hearing took place on January 16, 2008. Glass raised Simpson's bail to US$250,000 and ordered that he remain in county jail until 15 percent was paid in cash. Simpson posted bond that evening and returned to Miami the next day. Simpson and his co-defendant were found guilty of all charges on October 3, 2008. On October 10, 2008, Simpson's counsel moved for a new trial (trial de novo) on grounds of judicial errors and insufficient evidence. Simpson's attorney announced he would appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court if Judge Glass denied the motion. The attorney for Simpson's co-defendant, C. J. Stewart, petitioned for a new trial, alleging Stewart should have been tried separately and cited possible misconduct by the jury foreman. Simpson faced a possible life sentence with parole on the kidnapping charge, and mandatory prison time for armed robbery. On December 5, 2008, Simpson was sentenced to a total of thirty-three years in prison, with the possibility of parole after about nine years, in 2017. On September 4, 2009, the Nevada Supreme Court denied a request for bail during Simpson's appeal. In October 2010, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed his convictions. He is now serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center and his inmate ID number is #1027820. A Nevada judge agreed on October 19, 2012, to "reopen the armed robbery and kidnapping case against O. J. Simpson to determine if the former football star was so badly represented by his lawyers that he should be freed from prison and get another trial." A hearing was held beginning May 13, 2013, to determine if Simpson is entitled to a new trial. On November 27, 2013, Judge Linda Bell denied Simpson's bid for a new trial on the robbery conviction. In her ruling, Bell wrote that all of Simpson's contentions lacked merit. On July 31, 2013, the Nevada Parole Board granted Simpson parole on some charges from armed robbery convictions, but he will continue to be held at least until 2017 on other charges. In popular culture: -In Fox network's TV movie, The O.J. Simpson Story (1995), Simpson is played by Bumper Robinson as a youth and Bobby Hosea as an adult. -In CBS's TV miniseries American Tragedy, Simpson is played by Raymond Forchion. -BBC TV's documentary, O.J. Simpson: The Untold Story, produced by Malcolm Brinkworth, "reveals that clues that some believe pointed away from Simpson as the killer were dismissed or ignored and highlights two other leads which could shed new light on the case." -The Investigation Discovery TV movie documentary, OJ: Trial of the Century, begins on the day of the murders, ends on the reading of the verdict, and comprises actual media footage of events and reactions, as they unfolded. -In FX's cable TV mini-series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Simpson is portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. -The Investigation Discovery TV movie documentary, O.J. Simpson Trial: The Real Story, entirely comprises archival news footage of the murder case, the Bronco chase, the trial, the verdict, and reactions. -The documentary mini-series, O.J.: Made in America, directed by Ezra Edelman and produced by Laylow Films, is an American 5-part, 7.5-hour film that previewed at the Tribeca and Sundance Film Festivals and is airing as part of the 30 for 30 series airing on the ABC and ESPN sister networks. This film adds "rich contextual layers to the case, including a dive into the history of Los Angeles race relations that played such a central role in his acquittal". As James Poniewozik observed in his June 20, 2016 New York Times review: "the director Ezra Edelman pulls back, way back, like a news chopper over a freeway chase. Before you hear about the trial, the documentary says, you need to hear all the stories — the stories of race, celebrity, sports, America — that it's a part of." -The Bronco from a police chase featuring OJ Simpson will be on display in Pigeon Forge's Alcatraz East Crime Museum opening fall of 2016.